Wednesday, September 12, 2012

The Lessons of Chiron and Healing of the Wounds of Dominion

After we have gained the knowledge and wisdom of what is happening in this world, when we have moved past the pain, the isolation, and the anger, we come to a point where we begin to realize that we have tapped into a deep, hidden truth about our existence on this planet. You begin to understand that the lies of this culture that have taught you: that your destiny is to have dominion over the Earth and that humanity, in doing so, will achieve the immortality of gods some day. This has caused the pain and struggle of humanity for ages.

Once we have had this epiphany, our love for our lives and this good Earth doesn't dissolve away. In fact it begins to increase. You wish to teach others this wisdom. You wish to heal what has been so broken, what has been plagued. Through this painful experience you learn an important lesson and at its core, found the greatest source of moral and spiritual strength.

Upon this discovery of the Truth of our time, you realize that there are many others who are still experiencing the pain, and you wish so much to relieve it. You want to show them that the greater truth you have discovered, the way in which we can live to be at peace with the planet, is their real destiny.

But in order to realize this, just as you, they must make it through the painful suffering of losing everything they've understood through the delusions of this culture. As with birth itself, it is a painful, but beautiful transition of growth. The power of this "birth" into the transition allows them to realize they have been healed by it, and with each person who awakens through the guidance, wisdom, and knowledge you share with them, the Earth is brought closer to being healed itself.

Through the sacrifice of the culture of dominion over this planet, the lie of the age, you are free of the pain and on the road to being a part of the true immortality of the Earth, because you are now part of it again. Through your recognition that this culture you've been a slave to all your life is not "immortal," and the painful birth it took to release your delusion, you realize you have only lost a fantasy of immortality, and by understanding that you are part of the Earth. By contributing to a way of living that reflects this existence, you are as timeless as the Cosmos.

Reflecting upon the Greek myth of Chiron, I discovered that the story of this "wounded healer" entails a similar lesson, buried deep in the words. With this essay I hope to bring it to light, so that, like the timeless embodiment his image holds in the constellation Centaurus, it will also guide you further in understanding your place in the Cosmos as well. As it is said that Chiron was the "father of the healing arts," and that he was the teacher of great legendary heroes, helping them discover their true destiny, so I hope this interpretation of the story, woven into this essay, helps heal you and others, allowing you to recognize and reach your true destiny.

I am told that the story goes as follows. Kronos, the god later known as Saturn, fell captivated by the beauty of the nymph Philyra. Like with many young goddesses of Greek mythology, Philyra did not share the same desires as the lustful male god and quickly devised a plan to escape Kronos's advances. Philyra quickly turned herself into a mare, hoping that would quell the desires of the god who pursued her.

Kronos matched her metamorphosis and transformed himself into a great stallion that cornered the mare, Philyra, finally enabling him to mate with her. Philyra becomes pregnant and later gives birth to Chiron, who is a centaur -- the body of a horse and the torso, arms, and head of a human form. With Kronos long gone, Philyra is disgusted by the appearance of her son and abandons him. He is later adopted by the Sun god Apollo, who teaches Chiron all that he knew.

In traditional Greek mythology, the centaurs were rowdy, drunken troublemakers, with their only positive attribute for the Greeks being their bellicose and combative nature, since the art of battle was tantamount to honor in ancient Greek culture. However, it appears that because Chiron suffered the pain of abandonment by those that normally would be the ones who should love him most, and had been taught all the wisdom of the gods by his adopted father Apollo, Chiron became a different kind of centaur -- one who promoted calm, collective thought, wisdom, justice, compassion, and the pursuit of knowledge.

Chiron became a revered teacher, passing on wisdom and knowledge, especially the art of healing to his pupils. Many of the great heroes such as Achilles and Hercules were taught their destinies riding atop Chiron's back. One day, a brawl ensued between other rowdy centaurs, involving Chiron's student, Hercules. One of Chiron's arrows, which had been laced with the blood of a Hydra (a mythical species similar to Medusa herself), had accidentally fell upon one of Chiron's hooves. Being laced with the blood of the Hydra, it creates a wound that can never heal. However, with Chiron being immortal, he would suffer pain from that wound for eternity.

Hercules feels great guilt and sympathy for what had happened, and he strikes up a deal with the god Zeus. Prometheus, the god who had stolen fire from the gods and gave it to humanity, had been punished by Zeus for this deed. He was made to live out all of eternity, chained to a rock at Mount Olympus, where each day his liver would be pecked out of his body by crows, heal completely, only to be eaten out again the next day, forever, and ever. The only escape for Prometheus was if one of the gods took his place.

Hercules proposes to Chiron that he take the place of Prometheus, which would at last make him physically mortal, he could die, and the suffering of his wound would end. After great thought, Chiron decides to end his own suffering, leaves with his student and all who he had taught, and takes the place of Prometheus to die at peace with the Cosmos.

As with many of us in the Transition culture, we too have been abandoned by those who should love us most. We are shunned for our all-too-real knowledge, which threatens the delusions of the masses. In our seclusion we have found peace with ourselves and our world by suffering through the painful birth into the enlightenment of the true wisdom of this world that the epiphany has brought us. The old person has finally been laid to rest and the new one has joined the timeless symbiosis of this planet -- birth, death, and rebirth.

Like the wound of Chiron, the longer we allow the soul of humanity to be wounded by the delusions of this culture, the longer we will remain in pain and suffering, for the rest of the human story 'till its End. We recognize that the pain of the wounds this culture gave us can only be healed by giving up the false promises of a culture bent on obsession with dominating the planet.

The gift of fire from Prometheus, is like the gift of being like gods upon the Earth. It has indeed allowed us to dominate this planet, yet we lay waste to everything in our path, burning a coldness into our souls. Our misuse of this gift has created the dreadful human condition that we are now faced with today. And, like Prometheus, we must suffer forever for having the burden of this gift, waiting for some great healer to come along to heal the error, and end the pain. We will suffer until we realize that the healer is ourselves.

Like Chiron's sacrifice of immortality to end both Prometheus's and his own pain, we must sacrifice as well. We must stop believing we are invincible. We must stop believing we have the power to take and take from this world and never give back. We must sacrifice our dominion to end the pain. And, like a new birth -- an event not free of pain -- but once past, you have taken your place back in the story of Nature and true beauty and balance will reveal itself. That beauty that has always been there for us all, but was hidden away, behind a dark veil that blinded us: the false promises of dominion.

Once that veil is removed and we have taken our place in the timeless, endless, vastness of space & time, we look out into the Cosmos, and recognize ourselves.

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